Carla Koehler

Carla Koehler is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCLA since 1999, with joint appointments at the Molecular Biology Institute, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Brain Research Institute. She holds a Ph.D. from Iowa State University and completed postdoctoral training at the Biozentrum, University of Basel. Her research focuses on mitochondrial biogenesis, protein translocation mechanisms, and mitochondrial disease pathogenesis using yeast and vertebrate models.

Research interests include:

• Mechanisms of protein import into mitochondrial membranes
• Redox regulation of protein folding in the intermembrane space
• Cardiolipin metabolism in Barth syndrome
• Development of mitochondrial disease models
• RNA import into mitochondria for mutation correction

Her publications demonstrate consistent focus on mitochondrial protein trafficking pathways, redox biology, and therapeutic interventions for mitochondrial disorders, with recent work expanding into stem cell metabolism and pharmacological rescue strategies.

Awards:

• Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Scholar
• Beckman Foundation Young Investigator
• Burroughs Wellcome Fund Award
• American Heart Association Established Investigator
• Herbert Newby McCoy Award

She advises graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in mitochondrial biochemistry, with current projects including small molecule inhibitors of protein translocation and mitochondrial RNA therapeutics. The lab utilizes biochemical, genetic, and chemical biology approaches to study mitochondrial assembly.